New North Korean satellite images give rare glimpse of life under Kim Jong-il

Newly uncovered satellite images of North Korea have given a rare insight into
life in the highly secretive state under former dictator Kim Jong-il.

Image 1 of 8

Drying clumps of corn can be seen around the Yongbyong nuclear research centrePhoto: IHS JANE'S/DIGITALGLOBE

Image 1 of 8

GeoEye's GeoEye-1 satellite took this image on 9 October 2010, the day before Pyongyang staged a parade commemorating 65 years of state rule. Around the Rungrado May Day Stadium, thousands of people are visible practising for the mass formations.Photo: GEOEYE

Image 1 of 8

Bird formation created by thousands of North Koreans during military parade practicePhoto: IHS JANE'S/GEOEYE

Image 1 of 8

The Taedongang brewery on the outskirts of the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.Photo: DIGITAL GLOBE

Image 1 of 8

An aerial view of an ostrich farm near Pyongyang.Photo: DIGITALGLOBE

Image 1 of 8

Kim Jong-il's waterslide can be seen on the left hand side. Out of shot is Kim's personal train line to his residencePhoto: DIGITALGLOBE

Yellow swaths of corn surround a nuclear reactor building in one image, revealing a surprisingly outdated system of gathering and drying crops, and thousands of North Koreans form a bird formation during military practice in another.

In a nation which struggles with famine in some of its poorest regions, the piles of corn drying around the Yongbyon centre is in stark contrast to the country's pursuit of nuclear technology just a few metres away.

Pomp and parade in the country is a collective effort, with tens of thousands taking part in elaborate spectacles shown to only a few dignitaries. The formation of a human bird during practice for the Pyongyang games in Kim II-Sung Square demonstrates the extraordinary discipline that is expected of North Korea's million-man army.

Other images, which have yet to be released, capture the expanding mass graves in the country's gulags – labour camps such as the ones where American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced to work – and a prison-worker's mine shaft emitting a mile-long cloud of soot. Juche propaganda is also seen carved into the nation's mountains.

Allison Puccioni, a senior imagery analyst at IHS Jane's in California, said satellite images are perhaps the only way to get an accurate picture of daily life in the clandestine state.

Related Articles

"North Korea is probably one of the most secretive areas in the world, so satellite images often show things instead of a media presence," she said. "Looking at the images you sort of come away with a feeling that it really is not functioning in a way almost any other country functions."

Previously released satellite images have unveiled some of Kim Jong-il's more elaborate secrets.

A British brewery from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, was reconstructed outside the North Korean capital after being shipped thousands of miles in 2000. The structure, renamed Taedongang, was dismantled in Britain by engineers and within 18 months was up and running, producing beer for the small nation.

North Korean beer is said to have a "full flavour" but is often brewed using chaff as some of the key ingredients are hard to find.

Another image showed Kim Jong-il's attempt to combat the nation's food shortage by installing a huge ostrich farm in Pyongyang. Analysts at the time speculated that North Korea had bought into Ostrich propaganda in the 1990s, however, like many others Kim Jong-il fell foul of the pyramid scheme.

The ostrich farm is now more of a tourist attraction, with the birds rumoured to wear quilted vests in the winter, and ostrich meat more of a delicacy than a staple food source.

North Korea's food shortage hit crisis point earlier this year, with six million North Koreans living on "a knife's edge", according to the World Food Programme.

The Kim family's elite household compound was unveiled in another image, displaying what appeared to be a waterslide in their backyard as well as its own train line – perhaps the same train line where Kim Jong-il was reported to have suffered a heart attack and died.